This is really annoying. I was testing a script that pulls pages from the API according to the published throttle guidelines. Then I went to StackApps to do something - and lo and behold, this is what greets me:

We're sorry...

There are an unusual number of requests coming from this IP address.
To protect our users, we can't process any more requests from this IP address right now.
We'll restore access as quickly as possible, so try again soon.
If you believe you have reached this page in error, contact us.

Since when did using an API app affect the site itself??? This is surely a bug.

Note: I'd have posted this on StackApps, but can't for obvious reasons.

Update: I've been able to reproduce this behavior, so it's not a random quirk.

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@thyrgle: But I can still access Meta, so....
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uɐɯsO uɐɥʇɐNSep 4 '10 at 21:49

@code: Whatever it is... it's a bug and the status-bydesign tag should be removed.
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uɐɯsO uɐɥʇɐNSep 5 '10 at 2:00

1

I suggest this whole discussion is moved to the StackApps site. It's pointless and noise on meta and there is a site dedicated to it. If you can't post on StackApps, then contact the devs via email
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DiagoSep 5 '10 at 13:46

@George - claims it doesn't "violate the published guidelines," sorry for the ambiguity. We've tested this many times and never repro'd with any code that's not Soapi. All evidence suggests its not a problem on our end, and its ill advised to run at "throttle limits" anyway. We're not going to waste manpower investigating this, yet again.
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Kevin Montrose♦Sep 5 '10 at 2:23

3

I don't make any 'claims' that are not backed up by hard numbers that are completely transparent. A spec is a spec. If running at spec is 'ill advised' then the problem is not with the code, it is with the spec or the implementation thereof. In any case, 30 request per 7 seconds is not at throttle limits of 30 requests per 5 seconds.
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Sky SandersSep 5 '10 at 2:36

@George - ... no, I mean if your [app] is client side and is making 30 requests a second it will break the instant the user has another [app] installed. Frankly, its misunderstandings like this that make me want to rescind the throttle documentation and phrase it like "The # of requests X users would reasonably make in Y seconds". This obsession with making the maximum number of requests possible is completely missing the point.
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Kevin Montrose♦Sep 5 '10 at 4:52

2

george's app uses the default soapi.js2 throttle settings of max 30 requests per 7 seconds with no more than 10 concurrent active requests and it seems to work just fine. no one is obsessed with squeezing the most requests and this has been made clear. you published a spec and everyone is making efforts to respect it. The issue of multiple apps is a straw man in this conversation, in another it would be story that supports server side throttling.
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Sky SandersSep 5 '10 at 8:05